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Erbil, Kurdistan Region ــ The radical group of Islamic State (IS/ISIS) intensified military preparations in the eastern areas of Syria’s Deir ez-Zor, adjacent to the Iraqi border, where hundreds of militants and dozens of armored vehicles were seen departing the province towards Hasakah province, activists reported on Tuesday.

Speaking to ARA News, Mujahid ash-Shami, an activist based in Deir ez-Zor, said: “The radical group announced the mobilization of hundreds of militants to fight opponents, demanding Islamic clerics in the province to call for jihad against the Kurds, Shiites and apostates.”

“A large convoy of IS-led vehicles headed from the town of Soor in Deir ez-Zor towards the northern province of Hasakah,” he added.

“The convoy was composed of several large buses accompanied by a protection force and dozens of anti-planes and artillery,” the source reported.

Over the past few days, Islamic State transferred a large number of militants from the city of Mosul in Nineveh province of northern Iraq to the Syrian territory.

The group is in conflict with Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Syrian army forces in Hasakah province. IS militants stormed the city of Hasakah and took over several neighborhoods last week, causing the displacement of hundreds civilians from the city.